Walking Spirit

I took last week off work, and blog updates, because there was just too much going on and I needed to focus on family as well as myself. Grandpa's funeral service was beautiful. That was the beginning of the week. The graveside ceremony was Monday morning, to avoid the exhorbitant overtime cost of internment on a Sunday. (Grandpa would have decided to haunt us if we'd done it on Sunday!)

After the graveside we headed to the hospital so Sarah could have her gallbladder(sp?) removed. The surgery went well, however, a stone got away from the surgeon and made it's way into the bile duct(sp?). Sarah went back on Wednesday and the went through another procedure to remove the offensive stone and is now back at home entertaining Madeline and dodging the cats. The family is taking a breather while Sarah continues to recover. Next Monday we'll be back at the hospital while a different surgeon releives a ruptured disk in Dad's back. I think he's coming over on Sunday to check out some movies from my DVD collection.

While Sarah was going through her second procedure last Wednesday I was at the Statehouse testifying in a Senate hearing. I hadn't planned on this but, after receiving an email on Tuesday night regarding a senate bill that requires better insurance protection for people with prostheses, I decided to attend the hearing. It was a very interesting process, and the Senator who is supporting the bill has asked me to come back this Tuesday (tomorrow) and testify for a similar bill that is going through the state House of Representatives.

Any residents of Indiana who are interested in these bills can look them up at www.in.gov. The Senate bill is SB 269 and the House bill is HB 1140. Please contact your local Senator and House Representative and ask them to support these bills. You can easily find out who your Legislators are at the above website and can also e-mail them straight from there.

Many of you have expressed interest in my continued challenge with the canes. As noted in one of last weeks comments I have been walking with them at Church. In fact, I've been trying to walk with them almost exclusively. However, some situations do require me to switch back to the crutches. Long distances, bad weather conditions, and unexplored terrain tend to be easier with the crutches. The canes continue to be a challenge and we have been experimenting with many different adjustments to my legs to try to compensate. I am more confident with them now than I was at the beginning. One of the biggest issues is that it hurts my hands. Unless something even crazier than whats been happening lately happens in the next week I'll talk more about the struggle with canes and Physical Therapy when I do my next update. Which will probably be after next Friday, the 25th. Now, make comments!